Supporting mechanism for cabinet doors



June 1953 E. w. SWANSON ETAL 2,643,166

SUPPORTING MECHANISM FOR CABINET DOORS Filed Dec. 5, 1949 :5 Shets-Sheet 2 I sr I I I i I June 23, 1953 E- W. SWANSON ERAL SUPPORTING MECHANISM FOR CABINET DOORS 3 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Dec. 5, 1949 Patented June 23, 1953 UNITED STATES ATENT QFFICE SUPPORTING MECHANISM FOR CABINET ORS ' Application December a, 1949, Serial No. 131,018

9 Claims.

This invention relates to door supporting mechanism, and in particular to mechanism by which the door member is adapted to be supported from a wall while the door member is moved between two predetermined positions.

More specifically, the invention relates to mechanism by which a door is adapted to be supported from one of the walls of a cabinet and by which the door is adapted to be carried while moved manually between two predetermined positions. In the first of its positions, the door closes an opening in the cabinet, while in the second, the door is opened through a full 180 degree arc but is spaced from the adjacent wall so that a handle or other protruding member on the outside of the door does not engage, with injurious effect, that portion of the cabinet adjacent said protruding member when the door is open. The invention also comprehends the carrier mechanism as support for electronically operated apparatus which is adapted to be moved through the openfrom an inaccessible position within the cabinet to an accessible position when the door is opened.

Although radio-phonograph apparatus which is supported by such means within a cabinet that it is movable between inaccessible and accessible positions through an opening in one of the walls of the cabinet is known to the prior art, the doors of these cabinets havegcnerally not been able to swing through a full ISOdegree arc and. therefore, were required to stand out away fronr the cabinet. If the door were capable of opening fully and carried handles or other members protruding from their outer surfaces, there was a danger that a protruding member would strike other surfaces of the cabinet with injurious results to the finish of the surfaces.

Because of our invention, it is now possible to support a door from a radio-phonograph or television receiver cabinet at the lower horizontal side of the door opening in such a way that when the door is opened it is moved to a substantially vertical position below the level of the opening in front of the cabinet from which the door is then in spaced relationship. This relationship makes possible the use of a door with a protrud ing handle without interference of the handle with the finish on the cabinet or any other de vice protruding from the cabinet below the level of the opening.

The door is movable'through a course governed. by novel mechanism which includes at least one member movable with respect to the opening and to which a record player, radio phonograph com.- bination or television apparatus may be coupled for support. The apparatus is concealed behindthe door when it is closed but is drawn through the opening as the door is opened to a position in which the record player is accessible for loading or reloading and/or the controls of other apparatus are more accessible for manipulaion.

The novel mechanism includes a resilient means which is adapted to bias the sound producing apparatus toward either of its two extreme positions dependent upon whether the apparatus has been moved past a predetermined region. The resilient means also acts as an element which is resistant to gravitational force tending to swing the door about its axis downward as the door is being extended outwardly from the cabinet.

Other advantages of the invention will be ap. parent from the following specification when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective partial view of a cabinet in conjunction with which the present invention is incorporated;

Fig. 2 is a partial view of the same in end elevation, a door of the cabinet being in open position;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view to an enlarged scale taken on line 33 of Fig. 2; 1

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 3, the door being in open position;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 4, the door being shown in closed position;

Fig. 6 is a horizontal sectional View taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 'l---'! of Fig. 5;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken on line 3i3 of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken on '9-9 of Fig. 5.

In Fig. 1 wherein for the purpose of illustration, is shown one embodiment of the invention, the reference character I I denotes a cabinet capable of housing radio and phonograph apparatus and which is commonly known to the trade as a console style of cabinet. The cabinet includes a vertical front wall I2 in which is provided an opening I3 adapted to be closed by a door 14. The opening l3 may be adapted to accommodate an automatic record player, a combination radio-phonograph, a television receiving set or other apparatus, any one of which is indicated in its entirety by-the reference character I6 (Fig. 3). The door It (Fig. 1) is adapted to be opened manually by grasping a handle ll which extends outwardly from the door. As it is drawn out of the opening l3, the door is adapted to swing about an axis which moves laterally over the lower horizontal edge of the opening l3. Concurrent with lateral movement of the door axis, the door is swung about the axis from its upper vertical position, where it closes the opening l3, to a lower vertical position indicated in Fig. 2. In the course of this swinging motion. the door passes through an arc of substantially 180 degrees so that the outer side of the door, i. e., its side which is outermost when the door is in closed position, is positioned adjacent the front of the cabinet and/or another door [8, as the case may be, at the lower portion of the cabinet. In its lower position, the door I4 is spaced from the door I8 so that the handle l7 neither engages the surfaces of door l8 nor any projection extending from the surface thereof such as a second handle l9.

Novel mechanism by which the foregoing operations are carried out include a pair of mobile members or carrier elements 2| and 22 which are preferably constructed of heavy gauge sheet metal.

The members 2| and 22 each have a pair of offset flanges 23 adapted to hold the main portion of the member in spaced relationship to the cabinet members 26 and 21. Except that these flanges are offset in opposite direction, the members 2| and 22 are exactly similar. The flanges or edges 23 extend longitudinally of the members 2| and 22 and are retained in engagement with a base plate 24, against which the beam 2| is adapted to slide, by a plurality of pairs of guides in the form of retention hooks or offset flanges 29, struck from the base plate. The carrier beam 2| is thereby adapted to slide longitudinally in the flanges from a position within cabinet N (Fig. 4) to a second position (Fig. outside of the cabinet. The base plate 24 is secured, in a vertical position, to a cabinet side member 26 in any suitable manner, such as by screws 28. The member 22 is similarly secured to a cabinet member 21 by a plate 24' of formation similar but complementary to the plate 24.

The beams 2| and 22 are adapted to be operated in a reciprocatory manner simultaneously because of their association with each other by any suitable means such as a bridge plate 3| (Fig. 3). The plate 3| bears bracket members 38 to which the beams are secured by rivets 32. Thus, the apparatus I6 carried by plate 3| is adapted to move with the beams 2| and 22.

Opposite edges of the door |4 are preferably each provided with a bearing clip 33, the respective clips being reversely flanged at 34 so that the screws 36 passing therethrough anchor the clips to the bottom of the door, while other screws 31 similarly secure the clips to the vertical edges of the door. The clips 33 are attached to the door M in recesses 38. At the door M, the respective end portions of carrier members 2| and 22 are offset oppositely to each other as at 39 and terminate in goose neck portions 4|, the ends of which are pivotally coupled to the door l4 by headed pintles 42 carried by the clips 33. These pintles 42 provide a horizontal axis about which the door l4 may be swung.

The door I4 is retained in its closed position (Fig. 5) by means including a tension spring 43 which is anchored to a lug 44, struck outwardly from the member 2|, and a lug 46, on the plate 24. The force of spring 43 to bias member 2| inwardly is resisted either by a shoulder 47 engaging one of the hooks 29 or by abutment of member 2| with the lug 46. Thus, the spring 43 retains the member 2| and the parts QQI l Q thereby including the door l4 yieldably in an inner predetermined position against forces tending to move those parts.

7 Means adapted to control the relationship between rotation of the door about its axis and translational movement of the axis is provided. One of the purposes of the variability in lateral motion of the axis is to move the pivoted portion of door 14 outwardly, from its closed position (Fig. 5), before the outer edge, indicated by the character E, is swung into engagement with that portion of the front F of the cabinet which defines the opening |3. One expedient by which this is carried into effect comprises a swingable element or cam lever 48 pivoted at 49 to the base plate 24. The lever 48 extends into intimate association with the carrier member 2| which bears a follower 5| which, in turn, is slidably received in a cam slot 52 in said lever. The swingable end of lever 48 is apertured by a coupling slot 53 through which passes a coupling pin 54 carried at one end of a coupling link 56.

The pin 54 is biased toward one end of slot 53 by a tension spring 51 anchored to said pin and an ear 58 on lever 48 to provide a mobile anchorate and pivotal point for the link 56. The link 56 is also pivotally coupled to the door [4 at another anchorate point provided by a pin 59 on the clip 33.

As the door I4 is moved from its closed posi tion (Fig. 5) outwardly, the initial motion is almost solely translational. This is controlled by the shape of the cam slot 52 and its action on the follower pin 5|. As an outward pull is exerted on the door, the force is transmitted to the slide member 2| through the pin 42 causing the member 2| to slide against the urging of the spring 43. This sliding motion carries the folower pin 5| outwardly also and causes a movement of the link 48. The pin 5| at this time is slidably engaged with the straight sides 6| of the slot 52 which necessarily then must move almost vertically relative to the pin because of the direction of the slot. This is easily possible simply by a 'rotation of the link 48 about its pivot point 49 which is both below and outward of the cam. This rotation of the link 48 carries the upper pin 54 in an arcuate path about the pivot 49. However, only the component Of the arcuate motion which is along the line between the pins 59 and 54 is effective to move the door. The component of motion perpendicular to that line simply rotates the link 55. Thus by proper proportioning of the links 48 and 56 and a corresponding orientation of the initial portion 6| of the cam slot 52, it is possible to cause the door M to move in a purely translational path. The choosing of these proportions is well within the ability of anyone versed in the kinematic art. However, a pure translational motion is not necessary and an approximation will suflice. Thus the sides 6| may be made straight and substantially vertical in the initial position with the approximate proportions shown. The primary desideratum is only that the corner E must be clear of the surface F before the door begins its pivotal movement as controlled by the cam slot 52.

It is apparent that a minor amount of pivotal movement of the door may take place initially because of the freedom of the pin 54 to move in its slot 53 against the spring 51. This spring, however, should be made firm enough so that this initial motion is not of objectionable magnitude, being wholly accommodated by the clearance between the door and the cabinet. As

the door moves outwardly the cam slot 52 carried past the pin 5! "until the pin enters the curved portion where the link A8 is caused to pivot about the pin 49 to a considerable extent while translational movement of the pin 5| is almost negligible. This motion causes the link 56 to be carried outward rapidly, and the door 14 then pivots about the pin 42.

In the course of opening, the door must pass an over-the-center position in which the anchorate points provided by the pins 55 and 59 are in the same line as the pintles 42. It is at this point that the extension of the lever 46 would be the greatest. However, the lengths of the link 55 and the slot 52 are so adjusted that the door would be stopped before reaching that point. In order that the pins 59 may pass beyond the overthe-center position, pin 54 is displaced later-- ally in the slot 53 against the resistance of tension spring 5 which draws said pin back to its former position once the over-the-center position is passed.

The over-the-center position is reached at a point whereat the door is well below a horizontal position; thus, it will be understood that the spring 5l acts as a counterbalance for the door during a considerable portion of its downward movement. The counterbalancing is also augmented by spring 43 since it is adapted to offer resistance to rotation of lever 48 about its pivot 49 because of the engagement of the follower pin 5! with the cam slot 52 formed in the lever 48. Another factor which may affect the counterbalance is the manner in which the position of pin 54 is adapted to move with respect to the follower 5|. As will be noted, on comparing Figs. 4 and 5, pin 54 is moved away from follower 5i as the door It is opened, and this spacing increases until said door reaches a position at approximately its over-the-center position, after which pin 54 is moved slightly toward the follower 5!. The distribution of forces for supporting the door during its opening is such that the mechanism approximately balances the weight of the door so that it is adapted to be stationed at points between the two extreme points without need for manual support.

When the door has passed its over-the-center position, in the course of its downward motion. it may even be carried backward slightly until an elbow portion 53 of the link 56 is carried into abutment with the offset portion 39, at which point the door is stopped in its downward position (Fig. l). Although the engagement of link 63 and odset 39 is adequate to arrest motion of the door, other stop means may, if desired, be employed such as a buffer 64 of some suitable material such as rubber which is fixed to the interior of the cabinet and against which the lever d8 is adapted to abut when the door is in its lower extreme position. This latter described stop also prevents undue strain of the slot 52 on the pin 5| which normally stops the rotation of the lever 48.

While we have described our invention in an embodiment thereof, we are aware that numerous and extensive departures may be made therefrom without departing from the spirit or scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In a cabinet for electronic apparatus having in one of the walls thereof an opening closeable by a door through which the apparatus is adapted to be accessible by extension thereof concurrently With opening of the door, the combination of, a support element to carry said electronic apparatus, means in connection with the interior of said cabinet by which the support element is slida'bl-y anchored thereto, said element being adapted to be thereby movable from a position within the cabinet when the door is closed to a position in Which it is in extension through the opening when said door is opened, a swingable element adjacent said support element, pivotal means by which said swingabe element is in pivotal relationship to said cabinet, a follower on one of said elements, the other of said elements having a cam slot therein adapted to receive said follower, pivotal means by which said door is coupled to said support element thereby providing an axis about which said door is adapted to swing, link means, pivotal means in association with said door to provide a first anchorate point for said link means, additional pivotal means in association with said swingable element to provide a second anchorate point for said link means, first resilient means in connection with said link means by which said link means is adapted to be resiliently anchored at one of said anchorate points, positioning surfaces at the end of said cam slot, second resilient means anchored to one of said elements adapted to provide engagement between said positioning surfaces and said follower when said door is closed and resisting movement of said follower in said slot, said positioning surfaces being formed to provide for a more rapid movement of the axis while said door is moved out of said opening than after said door has cleared the portions of said opening adjacent said pivoted portion of said door, said first resilient means being adapted to resist excessive force pulling outward on the door.

2. In a cabinet for electronic apparatus having in one of the walls thereof an opening closeable by a door through which the apparatus is adapted to "be accessible by extension thereof concurrently with opening of the door, the combination of, a support element to carry said electronic apparatus, means in connection with the interior of said cabinet by which the support element is slidably anchored thereto, said element being adapted to be thereby movable from a position within the cabinet when the door is closed to a position in which it is in extension through the opening when said door is opened, a swingable element adjacent said carrier element, pivotal means by which said .swingable element is in pivotal relationship to said cabinet, a follower on one of said elements, the other of said elements having a cam slot therein adapted to receive said follower, second pivotal means by which said door is pivotally coupled to said carrier element thereby providing 'an axis about which said door is adapted to swing, link means pivoted to said door at a first anchorate point spaced from the door axis, said link means being pivoted at a second anchorate point to said swingable element to provide cooperation between said cam slot and said follower, said door being adapted to be movable to an over-the-center position when said axis is in line with said two anchorate points, and a resilient member anchored to one of said elements to bias said door in either direction after its axis has passed its over-the-center position, said resilient member being thereby adapted to counterbalance the weight of the door as it is moved outwardly toward said over-the-center position.

3. In a cabinet having an opening in one of the walls thereof adapted to be closed by a door, a longitudinally movable carrier element, means by which the carrier element is slidably anchored to the cabinet for extension outwardly through said opening, resilient means coupled to the element to bias said element inwardly of said cabinet, pivotal means on the end of said element by which said door is held in swingable relationship thereto, a swingable element in pivotal relationship to said cabinet and in extension over said carrier element, a stud on one of said elements, the other of said elements having a slot therein to receive said stud, and a link coupled to said swingable element and said door by which said resilient means is adapted to bias one end of said slot into stop engagement with said stud to provide a closed position for said door.

4. In a cabinet for sound producing apparatus having in one of the walls thereof an opening closeable by a door through which the apparatus is adapted to be accessible by extension thereof concurrently with opening of the door, the combination of, a support element to carry said sound producing apparatus, means in connection with the interior of said cabinet by which the support element is slidably anchored thereto, said element being adapted to be thereby movable from a position Within the cabinet when the door is closed to a position in which it is in extension through the opening when said door is opened, a swingable element adjacent said carrier element, and in pivotal relationship to said cabinet, a follower on one of said elements, the other of said elements having a cam slot therein adapted to receive said follower, second pivotal means by which said door is pivotally coupled to said carrier element thereby providing an axis about which said door is adapted to swing, link means pivoted to said door at a first anchorate point spaced from the door axis, first resilient means by which said link means is yieldably anchored at a second anchorate point to said swingable element, the axis being movable to an over-the-center position when said axis is in line with said two anchorate points, said first resilient means being adapted to provide for passage of said first anchorate point past the over-the-center position as said door is moved outward, and second resilient means anchored to one of said elements to bias said door in either direction after its axis has passed said over-the-center position.

5. The combination with an electronic apparatus housed in a cabinet having in one of the walls thereof an opening adapted to be closed by a door, the movement of which is concurrently accompanied by movement of the electronic apparatus with respect to the opening, of a carrier element to support said apparatus, pivotal means in connection with one end of said carrier element to support said door from said carrier, said pivotal means providing an axis about which said door is adapted to be swung, means by which said carrier element is slidably anchored to the interior of the cabinet, said last named means providing for movement of said axis in and out of the opening, a swingable element overlying said carrier element, means by which the swingable element is in pivotal relationship to said cabinet, cooperating stop means on each of said elements connected to each other, a link pivotally connected to said door at a point spaced from said axis, means by which said link is coupled to another end of said swingable element,

said stop means on the swing able element arranged for holding engagement with the carrier element adapted to limit movement of said door at its closed position when it is moved in one direction, said door being adapted to be limited in its movement in the opposite direction by engagement of said link with said carrier element.

6. A mechanism for hingedly securing a door in a door opening in a cabinet including, a guide on the side of the cabinet and a carrier member slidably disposed in the guide and having one end pivotally connected to and supporting the door at one edge thereof, a cam lever pivotally connected to the cabinet and having a cam surface formed thereon and pin means on the carrier member engaged with said cam surface, a link having one end connected to the door in spaced relation to the pivotal connection of the carrier member and having the other end connected to the cam plate by a lost motion connection, spring means connected to said link and cam plate to resiliently hold them against relative movement, said cam including a first portion formed to move said slide upon pivotal movement of the door toward an open position at one rate of speed and having another portion to cause the cam to move the carrier member at another rate after said first movement.

7. An apparatus Of the class described. comprising a door, carrier members slidably supported opposite the edges of the door pivotally supporting the door on the ends thereof, a cam lever and a connecting link for each carrier member, each of said connecting links being pivotally connected to the door in spaced relation to the connection of the carrier member and having its other end connected to the cam lever by a lost motion connection and having spring means holding said lost motion connection to one of its limits of movement, said door upon being swung about its pivot transmitting a swinging movement to the cam lever, and cam and follower means on the carrier member and cam lever in connection with each other, said cam having a first portion for efiecting a sliding movement of the carrier member at one rate of speed and a second portion in continuation of the first portion to effect different swinging movement of the cam lever relative to the carrier members.

8. An apparatus of the class described including a door, a carrier member slidably supported opposite the edge of the door and pivotally supporting the door at the end thereof, a cam lever and a connecting link, said connecting link being pivotally connected to the door in spaced relation to the connection of the carrier member and having its other end connected to the cam lever by a lost motion connection and having spring means holding said lost motion connection to one of its limits of movement, said door upon being swung about its pivot transmitting a swinging movement to the cam lever, and cam and follower means on the carrier member and cam lever in connection with each other, said cam having a first portion for effecting a sliding movement of the carrier member by one increment of force and a second portion in continuation of the first portion to effect swinging movement of the cam lever relative to the carrier members by another increment of force, spring means connected to the carrier member and the support for resiliently urging the carrier member toward a retracted position.

9. A mechanism for hingedly supporting a door in a cabinet opening comprising a carrier member pivotally connected to the door near the bottom edge thereof, means for supporting and guiding the carrier member for limited movement in and out of said opening, spring means for biasing said carrier member resiliently toward a retracted position inside said cabinet, means for controlling and limiting the sliding movement of the carrier member including a cam lever pivotally connected to the support member for the carrier member and having a cam slot therein, follower means on the carrier member engaged in said slot, said slot being formed with a first portion for moving said carrier member a limited distance out of said door opening at a high rate of speed upon pivoting of the cam lever and having a second portion of curved formation for continuing said outward movement of said carrier at a lower rate of speed, a cam lever operating link having one end connected to the edge of the door in spaced relation to said first pivot and having the other end connected to the cam lever by a pin disposed in an elongated slot in the end of the cam lever and spring means connected between said pin and said cam lever to hold said pin 19 resiliently toward one end of said slot, said link having a curved portion in its mid section arranged to pass around the end of the carrier.

EDWARD W. SWANSON. DONALD O. RADKE.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

